Temples and shoes

[Dr Shivamurthy Swamiji]

No wonder then that Basavanna who led the great socio-religious movement in Karnataka during 12th century AD remarked in one of his writings (called Vachanas) in Kannada as follows:

hAgada keraha horage kaledu degulake hogi
devarige namaskArava mA.duva bhaktanante
tanna kerahina dhyAnavallade
devara dhyAnavilla no.dA   
				-  Basavanna (Vacana 202)

Eng Translation:

A devotee who closes his eyes and
Prostrates before the deity in a temple
Thinks seriously not of God
But of his shoes removed outside the temple!

Thanks to God that the "devotees" are now blessed with the new shoes atleast, while returning from the temple!!

Dr Shivamurthy Swamiji


----------
From: 	Madhav Deshpande[SMTP:mmdesh at umich.edu]
Sent: 	Friday, 15 March, 1996 1:36 AM
To: 	Members of the list
Subject: 	Re: Temples and shoes

	And while I was despondent about finding the apropriate authority 
for walking away with someone else's shoes from a temple, I "saw" the 
following verse which is missing from all standard versions of Manu's Laws:

	sarvathaa nuutana.m vastu nirmaatu.m ne.svaro' py alam |
	ekasyopaanahau tasmaad anyasmai pradadaaty asau ||

	Now no one needs to feel guilty.
		Madhav Deshpande

On Thu, 14 Mar 1996, Madhav Deshpande wrote:

> 	After reading the long inscription "discovered" by Aklujkar, it
> seems to me that the "scribe" has made some lapses in inscribing hrasvas
> and diirghas.  I suggest that if Aklujkar were to visit the temple walls
> at night again, he may find the corrected version of that great
> inscription and report it to us.


> 	As for missing footware in temples, I have lost mine several 
> times in temples in Pune.  It is one of the ways God makes the haves feel 
> humble and vulnerable, and He rewards the non-haves.  Of course, as soon 
> as I discovered that my footware was missing, I could always walk away 
> with someone elses, with or without inscriptional support.
> 	Madhav Deshpande	
> 
> On Tue, 12 Mar 1996 aklujkar at unixg.ubc.ca wrote:
> 
> > In a light-hearted message, Narayan S. Raja wrote on 8 March:
> > 
> > <I also go to the temple to steal footwear.
> > ..  I'm guided by an ancient Sanskrit inscription 
> > that I found on the wall of my house in Srirangam,
> > embodying the noblest of human values:
> > "AkAshAt patitam tOyam   yathA gachchati sAgaram
> >     sarva loka pAdarakshA:  pratigachchanti mAm tathA">
> > 
> > Quarter 'c  of this verse is metrically not correct.
> > 
> > As coincidence would have it,  my hobby is to wander in Srirangam at night
> > and change the inscriptions found on its house walls. Unbeknownst to Mr.
> > Raja, the inscription he quoted was changed some years ago to: 
> > aakaa;saat patita  toya.m yathaa gacchati saagaram / 
> > tathopaanaha aayaanti sarvaa maam ii a-mandiraat // 
> > 
> > Through my nocturnal wanderings, I also managed to get the authentic
> > version of the much-talked-about inscription at Khajuraho. It goes as
> > follows (refer to our resident expert Richard Salomon for translation): 
> > 
> > tvan-netra-sukha-kaariidam asmacchilpa.m, na sa.m;saya.h /
> > bhavya.m divya.m ;siva.m kaavya.m paa.saa.ne.su prasaaritam //1//
> > yathaa sajiivataa.m yaayaan nirjiivapi ;silaa tathaa /
> > ta:nita.m ;silpibhi.h ;sre.s.thair viga.nayya nija-;sramam //2//
> > bhartra ca ;silpinaa.m te.saa.m ga.nito na dhana-vyavya.h /
> > cintita.m naiva  kaalasya kiyaan syaad vyaya ity api //3//
> > kim etat prek.sakaa.naa.m syaan muhuurtam anura;njanam /
> > ity etayaa k.rta.m buddhyaa sa.mbhogaade.h sucitra.nam //4//
> > ti.s.tha, he pathikaatra tva.m nipu.na.m cintayasva ca /
> > ki.m kalaa dharmato bhinnaa, ki.m kaamo dharmato 'pi vaa //5//
> > naaya.m devaalayo vaastu kevala.m graava-nirmitam /
> > ;sivo 'ya.m muurtimaan nyasta.h puras te tattva-cintakai.h //6//
> > yathaa 'siva-caritre.su dharma.h kaama;s ca sa.mgatau /
> > sa.myama.h sa.myamaabhaavo, yatitva.m patitaa, tathaa //7//
> > asmin mi;sriik.rta.m dvandvam asmaabhir a;sma-ve;smani /
> > sundare mahadaakaare mahaa-deva-nibhe 'dbhute //8//
> > tavaapi jiivana.m. paantha, ;silpaad asmaan na bhidyate /
> > ;silpa.m ca ;sivto 'bhinna.m. tasmadd asi ;sivaatmaka.h //9//
> > maitad vismara, he dra.s.tar. maavamanyasva kaamitaam /
> > d.r.s.tim aa;sritya paa;scaatyaa.m vik.toriiya-yugotthitaam //10//
> > yathaa d.r.s.tis tathaa s.r.s.tir. dr.s.tyaa te mok.sa-bandhanau /
> > d.r.s.tyaa s.r.s.ti.m vyatikramya bhukti.m muktyaa vi;sodhaya //11//
> > raajaa vaa raaja-gopaalo gopaalo vavi;se.sa.na.h /
> > ima.m lekha.m pa.thed ya.h sa bhaved buddha.h sva-jiivane //12//
> > 
> > Good wishes.
> > 
> > Ashok Aklujkar, Professor, Department of Asian Studies, University of B.C.,
> > Vancouver, B.C., Canada V6T 1Z2. Tel: O: (604) 822-5185, R: (604) 274-5353.
> >  Fax O:
> > 822-8937. E-mail: aklujkar at unixg.ubc.ca
> > 
> > 
> > 
> 
> 



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